Ian Wright says the negative style of play on offer from Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka in recent weeks has almost made him 'burst into tears'
Arsenal have endured a difficult start to the campaign, currently sat in 14th position ahead of Sunday's North London derby with table-toppers Tottenham.
Part of the Gunners' problem, according to legend Ian Wright, is their negativity, particularly when it comes to midfielder Xhaka and the way the Swiss international's style of play.
“It needs to go to the Plan B, and what is Plan B at the minute? That’s what needs to happen,” Wright said on the Kelly & Wrighty Show.
“Is Arteta going to go with some of the youngsters, [Mohamed] Elneny’s maybe playing, is he going to stick with Willian? I don’t think that’s working out at the moment, too negative.
“I think Xhaka at the moment has kind of reverted to type, it’s very negative, this is why we’re getting this stat of 58 passes per shot. We’re passing [too much].
“You’ve got midfielders who are not willing to take the chance of putting it in there, and they want to get these stats where they’re passing it sideways and they’ve got 99% pass accuracy, passing it five yards to the side.
“If you’re not taking chances, you’re not going to create anything. I think one of the stats the other day was the most interaction between two Arsenal players was Xhaka back to Gabriel – it nearly made me burst into tears!”
Xhaka has featured regularly this season, making 13 appearances across all competitions, starting seven games in the Premier League.
Having started Arsenal's two league outings, he will be hoping to keep his place for the clash with rivals Spurs on Sunday, but Arteta could have a decision to make if Thomas Partey returns.
Xhaka has been at the club since 2016, penning a new contract two years later in 2018 to extend his stay at the club until 2023.
